JC's No. 1 goal
achieved

Ryan McCormick of Johnson
City is tied up in the legs of Spencerport's Josh Fuller in Sunday's
bout at the Union-Endicott Duals. McCormick pulled out a 4-2 win and
Johnson City beat Spencerport, 33-28, to take over the state's top
big-school ranking.

WAYNE HANSEN / Press &
Sun-Bulletin

ENDICOTT -- Johnson City entered the Union-Endicott Dual Meet Tournament
with impressive enough credentials: An unblemished dual meet record, a
seventh-place finish at the nationally regarded Beast of the East tournament,
and an experienced roster of wrestlers that included numerous Section 4 title
contenders.

But the Wildcats knew all of that would mean little in their quest for a
state team title if they didn't beat top-ranked Spencerport in Sunday's
championship match.

So the outpouring of joy -- as well as relief -- from the JC wrestling team
and its legion of fans was understandable moments after Steve Wiktorek pinned
Nick Morabito at 4:13 of their 125-pound bout to give JC an insurmountable lead
en route to a 33-28 victory over the Rangers in the finals at U-E High School.

With the victory, they knew that JC had not only earned revenge for last
year's 29-22 loss to Spencerport in the U-E Duals, but made its state-title
statement as well.

"We've been working toward this all year, since 364 days ago," said
JC coach Pete Capone, whose team last won the state large-school title in 1999.
"We were looking forward to beating Spencerport and getting back to No.
1."

And No. 1 is where JC (13-0) will be when this week's New York State Sports
Writers Association large school state rankings come out, according to Glen
Irving, who compiles the state wrestling poll. JC was fifth in last week's
rankings.

Though Wiktorek's victory, which had given JC a 33-12 lead with three matches
to go, was important enough, it was a key three-bout stretch earlier in the
match in which Nolan Robinson, Jon Colgan and Ryan McCormick picked up victories
that turned the tide in JC's direction.

After Ryan Kuzel's 8-5 win over Sebastian Baliva at 171 gave JC a 15-4 lead,
Robinson, who had missed the last three weeks with an elbow injury, was locked
in a scoreless tie with Alex Baxter at 189 after the first overtime period.

In the down position to start the second overtime period, Robinson fought his
way for an escape with 11 seconds remaining for a 1-0 victory that put JC up
18-4. Had Robinson not escaped, Baxter would have won the match and cut the
Spencerport deficit to 15-7.

"This was like nothing I've ever done before," Robinson said of his
win. "You're out there and you just want to keep going and going.

"I've been dying to get back out there and I did everything I could to
step up."

Added Capone:"I told Nolan 'Don't make any mistakes.' In the past we've
had teams going for No. 1 and we've made that one mistake in a match that's cost
us, and that could have happened today."

Colgan followed up Robinson's win with a pin of Adam Fredrick in 2:39 of
their 215-pound match.

Trailing 1-0 early in the second period, Colgan countered a shot by Fredrick,
taking him down and using a headlock to gain the pin.

"I went out there, and he was blocking a lot of my set-ups," Colgan
said. "So I told myself I would let him shoot and make his own mistake.
That's when I hit it."

After Colgan's victory, McCormick built a 3-0 lead early in the third period
against Josh Fuller before holding on for a 4-2 victory at 103.

The victory gave JC a 27-4 lead, and the Wildcats would hold off a late
Spencerport surge.

"Those were big wins for us," Capone said. "Ryan beating a
senior co-captain was huge, and Nolan really gave us a lift."

On Friday, it appeared that snow, and not Spencerport, might derail JC's
state title hopes.

But instead of being canceled, the U-E Duals were just moved back a day,
providing JC the opportunity to get its shot at Spencerport.

"I was nervous, because we knew we wouldn't have another chance at
Spencerport," Capone said. "Fortunately, we got it done, but we know
things aren't going to get any easier for us."